Forum Post: A Declaration of Economic Rights
Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 4, 2011, 11:50 p.m. EST by tomp
(29)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
A Declaration of the Economic Rights of All U.S. Citizens
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all U.S. citizens is the foundation of the United States of America, its legal instruments, institutions, and general principles of democracy and freedom for all.
Whereas disregard and contempt for a specific subset of these rights, previously not enumerated in any legally binding instrument, but declared herein to be concurrent with those liberties previously and currently enjoyed by all U.S. citizens, have resulted in despicable acts which have outraged the conscience of all, and the advent of a world in which all U.S. citizens shall enjoy freedom to pursue their various economic rights and be free from the fear of economic exploitation or manipulation and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the people at this demonstration herein,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against a tyrannical and oppressive economic regime, that certain basic and fundamental economic rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between U.S. citizens and corporations, companies, partnerships, banks, and all other establishments whose purpose, primary or otherwise, is to make a profit,
Whereas the peoples of this demonstration believe unquestionably in fundamental economic rights for all U.S. citizens, in the dignity and worth of the U.S. citizen and in the equal rights of all U.S. citizens, and have determined to promote economic progress and better standards of economic life in larger freedom,
Whereas a common understanding of these economic rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Among these fundamental economic rights are:
Article I
The right to economic self-determination.
The right to freely pursue one's economic development.
The right to play an active and meaningful role in the free market.
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation.
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment.
The right to freely dispose of one's natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations due to his or her fellow citizens in the course of exercising his or her fiduciary duties.
The right to be free from unlawful economic practices.
The right to be free from unfair economic practices, to the extent that such practices unreasonably and significantly deprive the U.S. citizen of his or her right to economic self-determination and development, where the U.S. citizen is deriving money or services from the corporation, company, partnership, bank, or other establishment in question lawfully and for lawful reasons, and where the U.S. citizen and corporation, company, partnership, bank, or other establishment do not stand in direct or indirect competition with one another
Article II
These economic rights shall be exercised without any discrimination as to race, sex, color, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
All U.S. citizens have an equal right to enjoy all economic rights set forth in this Declaration
Article III
- Such economic rights, as enunciated herein, may be derogated insofar as this may be compatible with the nature of these rights and solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in an open and democratic society, and may not be arbitrarily abridged for purely economic purposes, including but not limited to times of significant economic recessions or anticipated failure of major financial institutions, which do not threaten the very existence of the Nation.
Article IV
- All corporations, companies, partnerships, banks, and other establishments, recognizing the fundamental right of every U.S. citizen to be free from economic exploitation through lawful or unlawful means, shall strive to take measures, individually and through cooperation, where possible or necessary, to help facilitate the economic freedom and self-determination of all U.S. citizens so inclined to pursue economic development, to the extent reasonably necessary and as prescribed by the local, state, and national government.
Article V
- Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any corporation, company, partnership, bank, or other establishment, any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights or freedoms recognized herein, or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present Declaration.
- Nothing in the present Declaration, were it to be incorporated in a legal instrument or to have the force of customary law, shall be interpreted as impairing the inherent economic right of all U.S. citizens to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their natural wealth and resources.
Ha!
I love the part about a right to "economic self-determination"
But then you included a right to "protection from the fears of ... unemployment"
But the only way we can protect you from unemployment is if we have a system which either uses taxes to pay unemployed people or forces business owners to hire people they don't want to. That, of course, would be a violation of our right to "economic self-determination". I, as a business owner/taxpayer, would be unwillingly forced to use my economic resources for something I have no desire to do (pay your broke-ass unearned money)
Quite illogical
the right to economic self-determination is obviously not an absolute right, and is qualified by a fiduciary duty owed by all to act responsibly w/ one another in an economic sense.
the right to be protected from fears of unemployment was taken straight out of FDR's proposed second bill of rights.
no right is proclaimed to be absolute - the first amendment states that we have the right to free speech, but yet publishing lies about a private person not engaged in public affairs, or disclosing state secrets which immediately threaten the security of the country, are obviously not allowed. It's called case law.
And under this scheme corporations would owe a duty, however minimal and indirect, to pay for those who have fallen on harder times. If you're not willing to use your economic resources for that, then why are you here?
In sum, you have the right to make as much $$ as you can, while still owing a duty - AS A CORPORATION - to help others to the extent reasonably necessary to try and prevent their unemployment, homelessness, etc.
Isn't that the whole point of this rally?
What fiduciary duty do I (or anyone for that matter) have to act "responsibly" (whatever that means) with one another in an economic sense? Free competition has been the impetus for almost all human advancement, and acting "responsibly" (which I suppose could be interchanged with the word "charitably" per your usage) has no place in the vigorous competition that is the cornerstone of the American economy.
I completely understand having limited taxes that provide for the common defense, etc. What I cannot possibly comprehend is the notion of forcibly having my hard-earned property taken and given to someone who is (economically-speaking) worth less than me.
As to the legal arguments you posit in the first and third paragraphs of your post, while it is true that the courts have interpreted certain exceptions to our constitutional rights, they have done so sparingly. My own argument still stands, however, because the original poster's declaration has two rights that clearly are mutually exclusive. One cannot have even a semblance of free, economic self-determination, if he or she (or the corporation) must pay substantial amounts of money to employ unemployable people, and/or pay employees well over their market value. Those two "rights" that I the original poster mentioned above, are facially mutually exclusive, and would be mutually exclusive as employed.
As to your question in your fourth paragraph, I'm a CPA currently in law school, and this website is hilarious. If only you people realized how silly you are being. I feel like I'm beating up little children. I should stop.
congratulations on getting into law school. we are honored by your presence here.
and by the way, I'm the original poster. How did a law student such as yourself confuse that?
On to your misinterpretation of a such a simple text. You can have economic self-determination and still support, to a limited extent, your fellow man. Your argument that the two are mutually exclusive is like saying that the right to free speech is null and void because you can't use profanity in public, incite a riot, open up an adult theater wherever you want, or talk about abortion to low-income women because the government has stipulated as a condition to receiving government aid that you may not even mention the possibility of abortion. The latter are conditions which necessarily infringe on the former, which by your textual interpretation is absolute because there does not exist any qualifications in the text itself (A Scalia fan?). Likewise, in the text above everyone should have the right to economic self-determination, but should know that, along the way of making money, they owe certain duties.
once again, congratulations on being a law student.
Rights such as these (or, as I like to refer to them, privileges) are always conditioned. And I never said "substantial amounts of money to employ unemployable people". That's you putting words in my mouth.
To post on this site because you find it hilarious and because you feel that you are some how intellectually superior is, in of itself, hilarious. You are clearly of the opinion that being in law school entitles you to throw around some legal jargon you learned in corporations or Torts and to talk down on those who, for all you know, are older and wiser.
Besides, law school is easy :)
I like this. While it doesn't specifically speak to the issues of the corruption on Wall Street and in Washington D.C., the spirit of the document is great.
I like it! its clear, concise, and speaks to the ideas of the movement.
Adding this to my list of links.
Article V, sec. 3. All persons shall have the right to 15 minutes of fame, and a personal meeting with Andy Warhol.
plan on digging up his corpse?